By Gena Pratt
Every year volunteers go door-to-door, continuing a tradition of giving and serving.
The Pennies by the Inch campaign is an annual fund-raising drive done by Primary Children”s Medical Center. The drive, running through Oct. 15, creates funds to assist children and families who cannot pay for their medical needs.
“What this does is it lets them receive their very best medical care regardless of their parents situation,” said Marilee Salvesen, Pennies by the Inch coordinator.
Last year the drive created $1.4 million in funds. In the past year the medical center has spent over $10.3 million to cover more than 16,000 hospital visits by needy children.
The drive has been going on since Sept. 15 and donations are beginning to trickle in.
“For the most part the drive is going well, we haven”t received too much money yet but that is because the drive is still going on,” said Lori Stewart, the central organizing committee member in charge of Utah County.
One hundred percent of donations from the drive are used to help children served by the medical center. Physicians at the medical center donate their services to children who benefit from the donations.
“It may not hit you, but it will hit someone you know,” said Jennifer Jefferson, volunteer coordinator for the Orem area. She noted that many people make a personal connection with the hospital and are willing to give generously to help children.
The drive has been around since the early years of the medical center, beginning in 1922 with donations from children. The drive was then known as the Penny Parade or Birthday Pennies. Children were encouraged to donate a penny for every year of their age or, more recently, every inch of their height. The drive has now evolved into a month long endeavor involving more than 50,000 volunteers in five states.
“It used to be give a penny for every penny tall you were, and now it is just measure your hearts and give as much as you can,” Salvesen said.
The drive stretches across the service area for the medical center, including Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada. Volunteers work on a localized basis with local organizers. Time commitments last anywhere from one evening to several months of determined work.
Jefferson is one of those dedicated volunteers. She has been working with the drive for the past seven years.
“I don”t meet the people who give the money, but I see the checks and I am stunned with their generosity,” Jefferson said.
To receive assistance applicants must follow an application process, insuring that they are not able to receive other sources of funding. For this reason Salvesen said that the drive”s funds are sometimes called funds of last resort.
“We feel like we”re stewards of these donations that come in,” Salvesen said. “It is for children. No matter what level of involvement, it”s for them.”
For more information on the program call (801) 588-3693.
